Last weekend I went up to cover tryouts for a new football league set to kick off this fall. The United Football League (UFL) was something I had honestly never even heard of until about a week prior to this shoot. Perhaps I had heard a year or so ago about a new league trying to begin but as with most sports fans I quickly dismissed it as something that was doomed to fail (like me taking a 10th grade algebra test). One of the cool aspects about the shoot I was looking forward to was that I would be shooting for the UFL so I was promised some good access for shooting. The hardest part of the shoot would be to not get drunk the night before on the strip!
I got to the stadium about an hour before the practice to get all situated and fire off a couple images of the empty Sam Boyd Stadium. The clouds were a nice touch.
Nikon D700, 24-70 mm, 500 ISO, f5.6, 1/8000th
A few minutes later the field was filled with players as they stretched out and got warmed up.
Nikon D700, 24-70 mm, 400ISO, F5.6, 1/3200th
Nikon D700, 70-200 mm, 400ISO, F5.6, 1/1250th
Nikon D700, 70-200 mm, 400ISO, F7.1, 1/800th
After about 30 minutes warming up on the field they headed into the locker room to await coaches instructions on what was next.
Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 1600ISO, F2.8, 1/200th
Below, quarterback Ken Dorsey (center) sits in the locker room as he waits to begin the first phase of the practice.
Nikon D700, 70-200mm, 1600ISO, F2.8, 1/250th
By position, the players walked through a hallway into a room to be weighed and measured by members of the coaching staff.
Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 1600ISO, F2.8, 1/160th
Below, a player stands on the scale as he is weighed by UFL coaching staff members.
Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 1600ISO, F2.8, 1/400th
Below, Keith Heinrich has his arm measured.
Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 1600ISO, F2.8, 1/1000th
Below, Mark Fenton is measured during the United Football League workout at Sam Boyd Stadium.
Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 1600iso, F2.8, 1/250th
Below, Through the empty hallway I set up for a shot of a player on the field with the dark hallway providing a decent frame, the only problem was there was nothing going on in that area of the field so it was a waste of time.
Nikon D700, 70-200mm, 800iso, F2.8, 1/8000th
Since I was shooting for the UFL I made sure to look for any shots that showed the new logo. When you are doing commercial stuff its all about branding.
Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 640iso, F5, 1/5000th
Below, I underexposed the shot by several stops to turn Joey Hollenbeck into a silhouette as he prepared to run the 20 yard dash during the United Football League workout at Sam Boyd Stadium. Anytime I can find ways to incorporate nice clouds in the backgrounds I always take advantage of it.
Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 320iso, F6.3, 1/8000th
Perhaps the biggest things I like to stress to photographers is to try different angles from the norm. Go to a sporting event and about 90% of the photographers are standing up when they shoot while the other 10% are trying different angles and usually are rewarded with interesting shots for their efforts. Something as easy and simple as laying down on the ground for a shot can make a profound difference in what you end up with.
Standing up:
Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 320iso, F4.5, 1/500th
Laying down:
Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 320iso, F4.5, 1/1600th
Is the low angle amazing? Hardly. But you gotta admit it looks much more interesting than the lazy half assed standing shot.
In the below shot I used the two players in the foreground to frame the second pair of players as they did drills.
Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 320iso, F4.5, 1/2000th
A short while later as the sun got lower I underexposed by several stops to make a silhouette as two players practiced hitting.
Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 320iso, F4.5, 1/5000th
On the other side of the field the quarterbacks were doing passing drills so I headed over there to look for shots.
Below, Ken Dorsey throws a pass. Once again I got low to take advantage of the cleaner background as well as nice clouds.
Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 320iso, F4.5, 1/5000th
Below, I picked up the long glass and shot as Casey Bramlet throws a pass during the United Football League workout.
Nikon D700, 400mm, 800iso, F5, 1/4000th
The linebackers were lined up doing running drills with some coaches so I got directly behind him to shoot head on as the players sprung forward. It was a great angle to see the players eyes and facial expressions.
Nikon D700, 70-200mm, 1250iso, F4.5, 1/1000th
Nikon D700, 70-200mm, 1250iso, F4.5, 1/1000th
One request from the UFL for the day was to get a nice shot of their logo on the game balls they will be using for the season. I started off with the standard shot of the ball on the field.
Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 320iso, F4.5, 1/1600th
Then I got the idea to hold the ball up with my left hand and lightly toss it up so I could get the ball essentially floating in the air above the stadium.
In the below shot you can see my wonderful throwing technique.
Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 320iso, F4.5, 1/2000th
And the resulting image.
Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 320iso, F4.5, 1/2000th
Below is another shot I kinda liked.
Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 320iso, F4.5, 1/2000th
Below, I slowed the shutter speed way down to get some nice blur as Steven Korte ran the 40 yard dash.
Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 320iso, F10, 1/60th
In another area of the field the running backs were doing drills so I shot head on as the players ran towards me with the other players providing a nice background for me.
Nikon D700, 70-200mm, 1250iso, F5.6, 1/1250th
In the below shots I used a 400mm and shot as players were running drills. With the sun getting lower and the red grandstands glowing in the background it made for some nice shots.
Below, Cecil Sapp during a running drill.
Nikon D700, 400mm, 800iso, F6.3, 1/6400th
Below, a ball flies over the head of Larry Croom as he does running drills.
Nikon D700, 400mm, 800iso, F6.3, 1/8000th
In the below shot I noticed the shadow of Trey Brown on the wall behind him. It had the potential to be a nice photo but sadly all that he did was stand there before walking off.
Nikon D700, 400mm, 800iso, F6.3, 1/3200th
After a few hours on the field level I decided to go up in the stands for a minute, first to do an overall shot of the stadium…
Nikon D700, 10.5-17mm, 800iso, F5, 1/2500th
…..then to see if there was any cool angles to take advantage of as wide receivers were catching passes.
Below, Tyson Thompson keeps his eyes on the ball as he makes a catch.
Nikon D700, 400mm, 800iso, F5, 1/1600th
Below, A player I can’t name since I lost my roster makes a catch as his shadow runs alongside him.
Nikon D700, 400mm, 800iso, F5, 1/1600th
I liked the below shot with some aerial acrobatics as Tyronne Gross made a spectacular one handed catch under pressure from Marviel Underwood.
Nikon D700, 400mm, 800iso, F5, 1/1000th
I headed back down to field level to shoot as the practice was winding down and there was some great light on the field.
Below I exposed for the bright background to make a silhouette as a quarterback made a throw downfield.
Nikon D700, 400mm, 1000iso, F6.3, 1/8000th
I noticed some nice light on the field with shadows in the background as receivers attempted to make catches under pressure from defenders.
A few stops underexposed worked perfectly to shoot Bennie Brazell (14) as he made a leaping catch under pressure from defender Trey Brown (2) during the United Football League workout at Sam Boyd Stadium.
Nikon D700, 400mm, 1000iso, F6.3, 1/8000th
Nikon D700, 400mm, 1000iso, F6.3, 1/8000th
Below, the day ended with all the players huddling up to listen to the coaches talk. I threw the fisheye on and did a hail mary right before they broke from the huddle and back to their lives as hopeful football players without jobs.
Nikon D700, 10.5-17mm, 500iso, F4.5, 1/400th
Heres some web clips:
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Nice work Mark!
Great pics as always and great setup info. I’m not into sports photography, but I almost want to give it a try for fun.
Really love your work. I hope to some day be at your level of shooting someday!!
You scored double with this one — in the shot with the QB throwing – from your laying down position – a sweet shot of the airplanes landing in the background sky… Kick ass!
Great work! Keep it up!
You make a really good point about finding different angles to shoot. I see the same thing here too – many photographers just stand up, rooted to the same spot, not even trying to look at things differently. Yet sometimes even the simple act of kneeling down can give you a whole new view on things.
…I expect to be seeing your “Standard Ball Shot” on many UFL posters in the future…
Go Ken Dorsey!!!
Nice shots!
Mark,
Great photos and documentary. I’m sure your “standard shots” will be on a poster for the league and seen by thousands. Great work and thanks for sharing your techniques.
great pics…do have a team address for las vegas ? ive tried to find one online and no luck.thankyou for your time and good luck with your shots ! boomer
Are they still looking for prospects?
Mark,
I’ve just started following your blog and I’m already inspired. I’m heading down to cover a college practice tomorrow and this series has given me a few great ideas! Thanks for sharing your thinking, your lens choice and both the shots that work as well as the ones that don’t.